Montego Bay is the capital of St. James Parish and the second largest city in Jamaica by area and the third by population with an estimated total of 96,488 persons living there. It is a tourist destination with duty free shopping, cruise line terminal and the beaches. The city is backed by picturesque low mountains.

Montego Bay is known for port facilities, second homes for numerous Jamaicans from Kingston as well as North Americans and Europeans; its large general hospital (Cornwall Regional Hospital), fine restaurants, and shopping opportunities. The architecture is a mixture of last-century "gingerbread" wooden houses interspersed with modern buildings. Among the most famous places in Montego Bay are the Rose Hall Great House and Half Moon Hotel, both of which feature magnificent world-class golf courses.